Mother Nature and police quash Broughdale Ave. street party in London, Ont.
CTV
A combination of an afternoon rain, and a heavy police presence limited the amount of party-goers at Western University's Homecoming.
A combination of an afternoon rain, and a heavy police presence limited the amount of party-goers at Western University's Homecoming.
"We came here and it's a little bit intimidating they got like four dump trucks here," says Matt Dimanbro, a Western student attending the gathering on Broughdale Ave, just outside the university gates.
"What you have to understand is that we've been locked up for a year we're trying to have some fun. It's one day a year we get to have fun and they have hundreds of cops out here, and they even brought in extra from York and Hamilton."
London Police Service estimates about 2,000 people came and went on Broughdale Ave., a dead-end street notorious for huge student parties.
As partygoers arrived between 11am and 12pm officers walked the street, pushing students to the sidewalks with threats of fines for blocking the roadway. Others were given tickets for open alcohol, as police poured out beers.
"It's a bit frustrating you're trying to have a good time and you know cops are handing out tickets like crazy," says Nick Jakobiak, who received a fine.
"I decided to walk just across the street to the house my buddies own, and I was handed $125 ticket for having an open can. I get they're just doing their jobs and stuff but like they're doing this to everyone just trying to kind of ruin it for us."
